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First of all, photography can be a challenging and expensive, but rewarding, hobby that many take to professional level and careers. It is not something that you learn in a wink of an eye. You might be overwhelmed in the beginning of all the terminology and types of lenses or brands.
We are not experts but do like to show you what we have so far. Day by day we are learning and discovering new things. So much comes with it; lightning, angles, poses and of course the final touch with editing. We love to be creative and feel a high need to keep developing our skills. We hope you are also able to see progress over time.
Mirrorless camera – Sony A7 + 28-70mm lens
The newest baby to our family and we are extremely happy with it! This camera will allow us to grow in photography and capture some nice memories on a different level. The Sony mirrorless camera’s are widely used by many content creators – often the newest version III. Shooting in raw plus the 28-70mm lens gives us endless possibilities to shoot a variety of full frame photos – any kind; landscapes or portraits – with a nice zoom range.
GoPro
Fun fact is that many, especially travel, photographers started with one thing only; a simple GoPro to shoot the nicest travel shots around the world. Besides the ancient compact camera’s, we also had our best buddy GoPro on our side every mile we traveled. Looking back at it, we made very nice but some terrible shots with it as well. But nothing could compete against our friend who would follow us over land, sea and air. We also love it that GoPro comes with so many accessories (not good for the wallet haha) to use for whatever kind of photo or activity.
At the moment we still have the GoPro hero 4 silver. Knowing us, it can be replaced with one quick click to order for delivery tomorrow in an impulsive moment. Be honest, the newest GoPro’s are way more advanced, you can’t blame us hihi.
Drone – DJI Mavic Pro
Let’s fly away, ohhh let’s fly away…. a drone was on our wish list for sooo long! Finally we got one after a great convincing sales speech from Nadiim. And we are very happy with it as it is incredible to see the world from a different point of view. This is our most precious baby that we protect and are very careful with. Sometimes even too much, that we are so tense when flying. Point to work on.
We sometimes receive the question if we recommend to buy a drone. YES, we really recommend it but with the following notes: regulations regarding drones and no fly zones are increasing worldwide. Check for what you would like to use your drone and if this is possible. It would be disappointing if you cannot use the drone for what you wished for. And make sure you ‘train’ yourself well. Flying a drone needs some practice (especially if you would like to fly in sport mode or through or around objects) and you will absolutely see improvement in your footage.
We do would like to give a few advice’s for drone owners as this gadget does come with some do’s and don’ts:
#1: Always check with your airline how you should travel with the drone and the batteries. Some require all to be in the suitcase while others need all in the hand luggage. This is for fire safety reasons and to prevent that people will fly the drone on the airplane. HUH WHAT? Yes it happened on an Emirates flight where a famous blogger made a drone video thousands of miles sky high. Can you imagine….
#2: Check the local regulations for flying a drone (height, areas etc.), every country has different regulations and you do not want to get in trouble. Yes, big penalties or even jail time can be a form of punishment in some countries.
#3: Check if a drone is actually allowed to enter the country; for example you are not allowed to bring the drone into Dubai unless you have a permit that you need to require online with local offices in Dubai before arrival. If you do take the drone they will confiscate it at the airport and you can get it back upon departure. We were pretty anxious about this but did take the drone as we would travel onward to Mauritius after a few days in Dubai. In the end we were lucky as they did not check our luggage but we did speak to several people who had to hand in their drone. Not fun. Note: Dubai has strict regulations for a drone so we kept it safe in our suitcase.
#4: Please respect the surroundings! Not everyone is fan of a drone. If you are in a resort for example, ask for permission first. You do not want to disturb other guests.
#5: Okay last on… birds and trees are your biggest enemies! It can kill your drone. We had ours banging into a palm tree once already. Luckily our baby survived but we did have to take her to the drone doctor.
Tripod
If there is one life changer for our photo making process it is a tripod. Farewell to the selfie stick or asking other tourists to shoot that fantastic shot! Having a tripod allows us to be more creative and free when making photos. Posing can sometimes still feel a bit awkward, but we noticed that we are getting more and more comfortable. The fun part of the tripod + timer on the camera is that we have the option to just really play around and enjoy ourselves without always having that “posing pressure”. Still posing is part of the game!
The tripod will follow us wherever we go. Not just to be able to make different type of photos. Let’s not forget the important part of having stabilized photos! We have different sizes for different locations or moments – the smallest one is easy to bend around a fence or tree but only appropriate for the Iphone.
Gimbal
Our friend for all our travel movies. We bought the gimbal a few years back and we loved the difference in our video footage quality. Usually we would always have shocking videos shot with our Iphone or GoPro. The gimbal has the option to attach either the Iphone or Gopro and does a great job stabilizing. What a difference! We are focusing first on developing our photography skills but will never let go of our love for videos and editing/making travel videos. Definitely the best way to keep memories alive!
Gopro Dome
Now this if fun! Would you like to shoot photos and videos half underwater and half above water on the most tropical destinations? The GoPro dome is going to be your best buddy for this. We LOVE it as it brings such fun new possibilities! However we do must say that we do not find it a very convenient gadget to bring as it is pretty big in the luggage (hand luggage to protect against damage) and you will need a second/third person to make the photos for you. Attached to a selfie stick did not work at all for us until now. If you have the tip, let us know!
Iphone
So do you really need all the above or will your mobile phone do the work as well? Let’s be honest; some phones nowadays make INCREDIBLE photos! We are sometimes in shock when we see content creators shooting specific photos with just an Iphone (for example). Phones are getting better and better. You can find several big accounts on Instagram that only shoot with Iphone and they do it beautifully! But for ourselves we are very happy to have a mirrorless camera now as we do feel our quality and creativity improved.
Our Iphone is still always in the pocket to make some photos here and there as well, or videos for a movie later on or stories on Instagram. Oh and well, you can also be so clumsy to forget the SD Card in your camera that your Iphone becomes your life safer! YES, this happened to us in one of the biggest photography hotspots in the world; Cinque Terre…
Adobe Lightroom & photoshop – let the editing begin!
The game does not end with shooting only. Afterwards we have big job of organizing all photos on our laptops and external hard disks. Oh, so much fear of losing some photos. When done, we will start editing the pictures with our Adobe package of Lightroom CC, Classic and Photoshop. We pay a monthly subscription. We do not edit heavily but do work on the colors, contrast, brightness etc. But we are getting more and more used to the program so who knows where creativity will lead us in the future.
It is incredible what you can do with photos! Sometimes photos could feel like lost picture due the brightness for example. Two clicks and out of nowhere your photo is booming! Right now we are working on our own presets. These are “packs” or pre-saved settings and edits that you can easily apply to other photos. In this way your editing process goes way quicker and you will create one style, which obviously is attractive for your Instagram feed.